Flowering plants, shrubs and trees provide the environment with much needed oxygen and fight soil erosion. They also provide food and shelter for many animals, as well as contribute to the fertility of soil with their dead leaves and flowers.
Plants that eat other creatures? It sounds like a genetic experiment gone awry. But there's actually nothing unnatural about it; carnivorous plants have been around for thousands of years. Find out all about the Venus Flytrap. See more »
Poison Oak, a shrub or small tree native to North America. It is distinguished by its three-lobed, oaklike leaves.
See more »Poison Sumac, a poisonous plant found in bogs and swamps from Maine to Florida and Louisiana.
See more »Pokeweed, a tall, strong-smelling herb of eastern North America. It is also called pokeberry, pigeonberry, and scoke.
See more »Pondweed, a weedy plant found in shallow freshwater. It is sometimes a pest in lily ponds.
See more »Poplar, a hardy tree of the north temperate zone, related to the willow. Of the 35 species, 15 are native to North America.
See more »Poppy, the common name for a family of plants. Most members of the family have brightly colored, often cuplike flowers borne singly on somewhat hairy stems.
See more »Port Orford Cedar, an evergreen tree native to the coast of southern Oregon and northern California.
See more »Prickly Ash, an aromatic shrub or small tree with spiny branches. It is not a true ash.
See more »Primrose, a spring-blooming perennial herb. About 400 species grow in cool regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.
See more »Privet, an ornamental shrub, used chiefly in hedges. Privet grows rapidly in almost any soil.
See more »Pyrethrum, the name of several kinds of perennial herbs that were formerly grouped in their own genus but are now classified as chrysanthemums.
See more »Quassia, a bitter-tasting drug. It is used to treat indigestion and to rid the body of threadworms.
See more »Quebracho, a hardwood tree of South America. The name is Spanish for "break-ax." The red and white quebrachos, which grow in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile, are of commercial importance.
See more »Raceme, in botany, an elongated cluster of flowers. A number of short stalks, each tipped with a flower, grow from a central stalk.
See more »Raffia, fiber stripped from the leaves of the raffia palm tree. The tough, stringy, weather-resistant fiber is used to make baskets and hats and to tie plants for budding and grafting.
See more »Rafflesia, a group of plants, native to the East Indies, that are parasitic on the roots or stems of vines.
See more »Ragweed, a common North American plant. Its pollen is one of the chief causes of hay fever.
See more »Ramie, (also China Grass and Chinese Silk Plant), a perennial plant of tropical Asia, where it has long been cultivated for its fibers.
See more »Rattan Palm, a climbing palm. There are more than 300 species of rattan palms, native mainly to southeast Asia.
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